Police warn public about scammers

The Woodburn Police Department is warning the public about two prolific scammers.

The duo seems to mostly target elderly victims in mobile home parks, but also neighborhoods with high concentrations of seniors, such as The Estates, according to a statement from the city of Woodburn.

Daniel Lee Gardner and his nephew Daniel Scott Gardner have been reported to the Construction Contractors Board (CCB), most recently in Cornelius. Both are out of the Portland/Gresham area and have in the past victimized people in Marion, Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties. They have multiple male and female associates that travel with them at times.

A vehicle that has been associated with this group is a 1996 GMC Jimmy four-wheel drive with an Oregon license plate 775 GGK.

According to police, the way this group scams people is by soliciting residences to wash and/or clean their gutters. When doing so, they alert the victims to other problems on the house in areas the victim cannot see. These workers also have gained access to residents homes, stealing things small enough to conceal, such as medications from the bathroom.

On more than one instance, this group has taken advantage of victims of dementia or memory problems, returning almost daily with claims that they havent been paid yet.

Anyone contacted by a door-to-door solicitor requires a city-issued Solicitors Permit. Anyone suspicious should be reported to the police by calling 503-982-2345.

Additionally, the public is reminded to check that anyone working on their house needs to have a current licence through CCB, which can be verified at www.oregon.gov.